The administration of M-CHS, principal Dr. Wayman, vice-principal Mr. Robinson, and activities director Mr. Kelley, work hard year round to ensure each school year is a great one. Through hard work and experience, the administration guides the entire faculty in order to give students the best learning environment possible.

The role of administration in the school is to “ensure that every student is provided with a safe and respectful environment,” said Mr. Kelley. The administration regulates the school, disciplines those stepping out of line, and strives to provide a school where teachers can teach the way they want, while giving students the most opportunities to learn.

Administration in the school is vital to its success. Mr. Eric Chandler, science teacher, states that the administration “supports the education in the school, so teachers can focus on teaching.”

The administration deals with any input that comes their way, whether it be from the school board, the community, or teachers themselves, so that the teaching faculty does not have to deal with the trivalities.

The first year Dr. Wayman took over as principal, the attendance rate shot up. However, since that first year, there has not been much difference in the numbers. Mr. Kelley said “we really need to improve our attendance policies,” concerning student tardiness and truant tendencies. Emily Martin, senior, however, considers that the administration’s new policy has helped cut down on tardies this year. Tardy students do a push-up for every minute late.

Another part of school life that the administration has improved is the ability to “work with students on an individual basis.” said Mr. Chandler. A focus of administration according to Mr. Kelley is to be supportive of all students.

But dealing with students, staff, and parents individually and with such concern has problems of its own. The hardest part in being an administrator is “working with people who are frustrated because they didn’t get what they wanted,” Dr. Wayman says.

Because administration is so involved with students, it’s hard maintain a “healthy mental and emotional status” as a result of the stress of the job, according to Mr. Kelley.

Dealing with students on a case by case basis also causes struggles with consistency, a major problem according the multiple people. Mr. Chandler believes the administration struggles to maintain consistency because they’re “shorthanded.”

Another area Mr. Kelley feels needs to improve is the administration being seen as role models for the students. Administration needs to have “a positive impact on students lives,” and be someone students feel they can come to. “We want to have our names on the Sources of Strength wall,” said Mr. Kelley

Administration is a “job that’s hard to tell if you’ve made a difference each day,” said Dr. Wayman. “It’s important to focus on the positives,” and keep on trying each day. The M-CHS administration strives to give the students and faculty a safe, respectful, and fun environment so everyone can succeed.

Patrick Ness’s novel, “A Monster Calls,” was published May 5, 2011. The story centers around a 12 year old boy living in Great Britain. The book has been rated a 4.5/5 on Barnes and Noble, and was turned into a movie that was released this past December.

The movie stars Liam Neeson as the giant tree monster, Sigourney Weaver as the grandma, and Lewis MacDougall as the protagonist. The novel was inspired by Siobhan Dowd , a british writer who died of cancer in 2007. Patrick Ness stated in the author’s note that “ this would have been her fifth book.”

The novel’s protagonist, young Conor O’Malley, is going through some rough times since his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Alongside dealing with this, he dislikes his grandmother who is always around, his father lives in America with a new family, and he is being bullied at school.

Then one night, a giant monster appears out of the yew tree behind Conor’s house. The monster has come to tell Conor three stories that will prompt Conor to face the truth in his own life.

Patrick Ness’ writing style let’s readers know what the protagonist thinks or is feeling without saying it directly. The protagonist knows what is going to happen, but he keeps running from it, and readers do the same. Both readers and Conor know the truth but refuse to believe it.

While being a short novel, and meant for ages 12 and up according to Common Sense Media, Ness touches on some very adult topics concerning grief, guilt, loss, and the idea of moral ambiguity. Not everything is as it seems, and the novel shows how humans can be good for bad reasons and bad for good reasons.

“A Monster Calls” is a heart-wrenching novel that deals with loss, and all the baggage that comes with it. It’s a tale of not judging until you know the full story, and that “you do not write your life with words… you write it with actions”(Ness).